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MEMORIAL ADDRliSS 



LIFK A\n ri'BUC SERVICES 



SETH L. MILLIKEN 

(Late a Representative from Maine), 

DELIVKUED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

BY 

HON. EDWIN C. BURLEIGH. 

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1898. 



W^^-SIIIXGTON. 



1898. 



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ADDRESS 



HON. EDWIN 0. BURLEIGH. 



EULOGIES ON HON. SETH L. MILLIKEN. 

Mr. BURLEIGH. Mr. Speaker, I asli for the present consid- 
eration of tlie resolutions which I send to the Clerk's desk. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That tho business of the House be now suspended th.at opportu- 
nity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. Seth L. Millikex, 
late a Representative from the State of Maine. 

Tiesolvcd, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the de- 
ceased and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a distinguished public 
servant the House, at the conclusion of these memoi-ial proceedings, shall 
stand adjourned. 
C5 Resalved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 
^ Resolved, That tho Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these resolutions 

J to the family of the deceased. 

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The question being taken, the resolutions were unanimously 
adopted. 

Mr. BURLEIGH. Mr. Speaker, in attempting to give some 
expression to the affectionate regard entertained for our late friend 
by the people of the district he so long and so ably represented in 
this House, I am fully conscious of the inadequacy of mere words, 
in times of deep bereavement, to voice the sentiments of the heart 
and speak the language of sorrow. 

One who for nearly fifteen years was a familiar figure in this 

Capitol, whose potent and eloquent voice was often heard within 

these walls, and whos3 warm sympathies and generous social 

qualities endeai'ed him to his associates, irrespective of political 

affiliations, has passed out through the dark shadows of evening, 

and entered 

That undiscover'd couutry, from whoso bourn 
No traveler returns. 
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It is eminently fitting that tliese memorial services of national 
character should be held in his honor, for though ever loyal to 
his district and his State, Mr. Milliken long ago outgrew their 
confines. His mind was broad enough to consider what he be- 
lieved to be the welfare of the whole country, and his sphere of 
usefulness was not confined to the service of any special interest 
or section, but embraced, in its comprehensive scoj)e, a,ll interests 
and all sections. 

Tlie career of Setii L. Millikex vividlj'and forciblj' illustrates 
the possibilities of American citizenship. The honored i^osition 
he attained in the councils of the nation was due in no degree to 
the accident of birth or fortuitoixs circumstances. From the early 
age of 14 years, when he left his country home to secure an edu- 
cation, with $3 which his grandmother had given him from her 
Revolutionary war pension, the only contribution for this piirpose 
he ever had, and walked 40 miles to save stage fare, he was v.'holly 
the architect of his own fortunes. 

To a youth of less resolute mold and tenacity of purpose the ob- 
stacles in his way would have seemed insurmountable; but though 
his financial resources were meager, he was not without capital. 
He had inherited a vigorous constitution, and hard work in the 
open air, amid the rugged hills of his native town, had given him 
the buoyancy of good health, and taught him habits of industry 
that he retained through life. When scarcely emerged from child- 
hood he took up the burdens of life without experience in worldly 
affairs, and with no resources save his ov/n untiring industry. He 
had his own way to make in the world, and the detailed story of 
his struggles and his triumphs might well serve as a source of in- 
spiration to the youth of America. 

In IS.jG Mr. Millikex graduated from Union College, in New 
York, after having taken a three years' course at what is now 
Colby University, in his own State. Six weeks later he was 
elected to the Maine house of representatives, and was returned 
the following year. Thus in early life he acqvared a knowledge 
of legislative procedure which proved of great assistance and 
value to him in later years. 

In 1858 Mr. Milliken was elected clerk of the supreme judicial 
court for his native county. While serving in this capacity he 

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pursued the study of law with Hon. Nehemiah Abbott and Judge 
Dickerson, of Belfast, two of the most eminent lawyers of Maine, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1871. He early acquired a wide 
reputation as a ready and effective political speaker, and his serv- 
ices were in great demand in times of political emergency, both 
in and out of his own State. Prior to his election to Congress he 
had traveled nearly 30,000 miles in presenting the principles of his 
party to popular audiences. The intimate acquaintance he thus 
secured with public men and measures furnished an excellent 
equipment for his subsequent duties as a member of this House. 

During his long and distinguished service here he was a pains- 
taking and conscientious Representative, thoroughly devoted to 
the interests of his constituents; and that they fully appreciated 
his labors in their behalf is evidenced by eight consecutive elec- 
tions with constantly increasing majorities. 

Mr. MiLLiKEN came of good stock. On the paternal side ho was 
of Scotch descent; his maternal ancestors were the Counts of 
Perrigaux, who were prominently identified with the early history 
of France. He thus inherited the best characteristics of two 
strong races — from his father, a strong Avill, tenacity of pui-pose, 
and marked i^ower of analysis; from his mother, a poetical tem- 
perameiit, innate courtesy, and a ready wit. It is to the combi- 
nation of these qualities that we may trace his notable success as 
a public speaker and his happy faculty of making and retaining 
strong friendships. 

During the later years of his life my relations with him were 
close and intimate, and I had opportunity to know and appreciate 
those indefinable attributes, that attractive charm of personality, 
which make up the subtle quality we call magnetism. 

He was a gifted and pleasing speaker. With a fine presence he 
combined a strong, well-modulated voice and grace of diction. 
He had an extensive vocabular j"- and spoke with fluency and ease. 
He possessed the power of clear and cogent statement, and carried 
his arguments home to his hearers with trenchant force. While 
he clothed his thoughts, for the most part, in plain, strong words 
of Anglo-Saxon origin, his broad culture enabled him upon occa- 
sion to embellish them v.'iththe beauties of classical literature and 
the graces of poetrj*. 

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His manner at all times was courteous and affable, and he was 
never placed at a disadvantage in f)ublic discussion by irritability 
of temper. He had a keen sense of humor and an apparently in- 
exhaustible fund of anecdote, upon which he could always draw 
to illustrate his points with happy eifect in gaining the good will 
and holding the attention of his audience. He was quick ia 
reijartee and yet one — 

Whose wit in tha combat, as gentle as bright, 
Ne'er carried a heart-staia away oa its blade. 

Mr. MiLLiKEN was a natural scholar. He was impatient, it is 
true, of the more laborious processes of intellectual acquisition. 
He apparently had the povv^er of absorbing knowledge. His mind 
was enriched with stores of information gleaned from a wide and 
varied reading, especially in lines of historical research, for which 
he had a strong liking. He had a faculty of mentally classifying 
the facts he assimilated in their relations to other facts. He was 
a close observer of events, and his wonderfully retentive memory 
rendered constantly available for any emergency his stores of in- 
formation. 

All who knew Seth L. Milliken can bear truthful testimony 
that he was a man of catholic spirit. His sympathies were broad. 
He loved the society of his fellow-men and was tolerant in all 
things. There was in his nature no trace of snobbery or affecta- 
tion. He was always accessible, genial, and loyal. While he was 
all Ills life a strong partisan, with a firm belief in the necessity 
of party organization and discipline as a factor in republican gov- 
ernment, he was singularly free from political rancor and never 
permitted the intensity of his political convictions to affect the 
amenities of his social relations with men of opijosing views. 
While strongly tenacious of his own opinions and ever ready to 
champion them upon all proper occasions, he was never lacking 
in respect for the honest convictions of those who differed with 
him on questions of public policy. 

Few men in public life have ever i^ossessed a finer tact in deal- 
ing with others or a more thorough mastery of the art of concili- 
ation. It was not in hisnature to treasure resentments. Intensely 
American in all his views, he blended prudence with patriotism 



Accustomod calways to look upon the bright side of life, be had an 
abiding love for his country and profound faith in its future. 

He died, as he had lived, in the harness. In the meridian of his 
powers, and in the unimpaired possassion of all his faculties, ho 
■was called suddenly from the activities of a busy life, from its 
duties, its hopes, its aspirations, to 

Tho lone couch of his overlastiug sloop. 

The sorrow at his untimely death was shared by all classes. 
The pulpit and the press have united in giving expression to the 
popular sense of bereavement and in paying eloquent tribute to 
his memory. I was present at his funeral and followed his body 
to its last resting place in the beautiful city by the sea, where he 
lived during so many of the best years of his life, and which had 
a deep and abiding place in his affections. It was a sad and sol- 
emn occasion, the memory of v,^hich vrill always remain with me. 
The whole city was in mourning. All classes of its people, the 
rich, the poor, the old, the young, were moved with a common 
grief. To one and all the death of their distinguished and warm- 
hearted friend and fellow-citizen had come with the force of a 
personal loss. Amid such sincere and loyal tributes to the quali- 
ties that enshrine men in the hearts of their fellows his mortal 
remains were laid to rest. 

The death change comes. 
Death is another life. Wc bow our heads 
At going out, we think, and enter straight 
Another golden chamber of the King's 
Larger than this we leave, and lovelier. 
And then in shadowy glimpses, discojinect, 
The story, flower-like, closes thus its leaves. 
The will of God is all in all. He makes, 
Destroys, remakes, for His own pleasure all. 
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